Papal Bull

[steepholm]

It's not just the Church of England bishops who object to equality legislation. Now the Pope has weighed in on the subject, defending the right to discriminate against gay and transsexual people as a basic tenet of religious freedom. I understand that it's unusual for Heads of State to comment on proposed legislation in other countries, so it's interesting that he chooses to speak up on this now, as he was strangely silent a couple of months ago when Uganda was going to execute people for being gay. But obviously, employing an office worker who happens to by gay is far more objectionable to Christ than a programme of state-sponsored lynchings. I just haven't studied enough theology.

The words of the Catholic Bishop of Cardiff were particularly delicious in this regard, if you happen to like the taste of weasel: “The Church, of course, upholds absolutely the equal dignity of every person irrespective of their faith, age, ability and so on. But there is a misunderstanding: sometimes in government legislation equality seems to mean that we are all absolutely equal, which we are not. We are equal in dignity."

So that's clear, then.